bowers



(No Model.)

S. J. BOWERS. HOR$E COLLAR COUPLING.

Patented May 13, 1884.

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SYLVESTER J. BOWERS, OF GANANDAIGUA, NEW YORK.

HORSE-COLLAR COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,343, dated May 13, 1884:. Application filed July 16, 1883. (No model.)

To whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, SYLvEsr'ER J AY Bow- ERS, of Ganandaigua, in the county of Ontario and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horse- Oollar Couplings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of my invention, showing it applied to the ends of a horsecollar; Fig. 2, a sectional view of the two coupling-sections connected to each other, and Fig. 3 a perspective view of the two sections uncoupled or separated from each other.

The present invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in horsecollars, and has reference more particularly to that class for which patents were granted to me November 26, 1878-, No. 210,237, and September 28, 1880, N 0. 232,590, and reissued November 9, 1880, No. 9,448, wherein is employed two coupling-sections connected to the ends of the collar and held together bya dovetail device and spring latch or bolt:

The object of the invention is to improve the constructions embodied in the above-mentioned patents by providing a housing for the spring-bolt, which is formed independent of the coupling-section, and afterward secured thereto by rivets, bolts, or other suitable means, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the coupling, rendering it more easily manufactured and the bolt more certain in its operation, as both housing and spring-bolt are located wholly upon the exterior of the coupling-section.

A further object of the invention is to provide the couplingsections or collar with suitable means for attaching thereto the ends of the hame, thereby dispensing with the usual hame-straps ordinarily employed for holding said hame upon the collar.

The above-mentioned objects I attain by the construction substantially as shown in the drawings and herein described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the two ends of a horse-collar, to which the coupling-sections B O are connected in any suitable manner, but preferably by rivets or screws passing through both ears of the coupwith a similarly-formed tongue or flanges, b, upon the opposite section, B, thus forming a dovetailed device by which the two sections are coupled together.

To hold the sections 13 0 together after being coupled, a spring-bolt is employed, as in my former patent, consisting of a bolt, D, and suitable spring, preferably a coiled spring, (I, encircling the shank c of said bolt. This bolt, when the two sections are coupled, engages with a loop or keeper, 0, upon the section 13, thus providing a spring fastening device by which the two sections,when brought together and being coupled, will at the same time be automatically and firmly locked.

Unlike my former patent, the spring-bolt is located upon the outside of the couplingsection and held in place by a housing, E, which covers the bolt, bolt-shank, and spring, and forms a guide for said shank. This housing is formed separately from the section 0, and is afterward secured thereto by the same rivet that connects the section to the collar, or by any other suitable means found most convenient.

The housing E may be provided with an eye,

f, for loosely connecting thereto a suitable hook, g, a similar hook, h, being in like manner connected to an eye, 2', upon a plate, F; or, if preferred, these hooks or devices for attaching the hame may be attached to the collar direct instead of to the coupling-sections; but itis preferable to connect them as shown, so that they will be prevented from becoming detached by abutting against or coming in contact with the ears of the sections. The hooks g h are preferably of such form and construction that they cannot be detached from the hames without first unbuckling the straps which hold the top of the hame together and loosening sufficiently to let the hooks out of theeyes of said hame, thus insuring the perfect safety of the attachment when adjusted.

The bolt D is provided with a thumb-piece,

k, which passes out through an opening or slot in the housing E, thereby providing means for drawing back the bolt from engagement with the keeper 0 when desired to uncouple the sections B C.

The advantages in locatingv the springbolt upon the exterior of the coupling-section and providing a housing to cover the same will be readily seen, as the coupling is more easily manufactured, the housing being independent and separate from the coupling-section, and should the bolt become inoperative from any cause access to is more conveniently obtained.

By providing 1oosely-connected hooks or devices g,thehame-straps ordinarily employed are dispensed with, as the ends of the hame are connected directly to said devices upon devices to which the ends of the hame are attached are loosely connected to the collar or coupling-sections thereof, so that they will be movable, and consequently adjust themselves to the form of the collar, thereby enabling-the ends of the hame or the eyes thereon to hold and retain the loosely-connected devices in close contact with the collar.

A horse-collar coupling constructed in accordance with my invention possesses superior merit over those in ordinary use, from the rapidity with which the collar can be coupled and uncoupled; and the usual hame-strap being whollyfdispensed with, the time consumed in buckling or unbuckling the strap as well as the trouble attending the same are entirely removed, this saving of time being considered of great importance when the collar is used by the fire-department, where quick and rapid hitching of the horses is necessary in order to reach the fire early.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A horse-collar coupling consisting of two coupling-sections adapted to be attached to the ends of the collar, one of said sections having a loop or keeper upon its exterior and the opposite section a housing containing a springbolt, said housing being formed separate and independent of the coupling-section and afterward connected thereto, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. i

2. A horse-collar provided at its ends with coupling-sections and loosely-attached devices for connecting thereto the ends of a hame, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a horse-collar, the combination of two coupling sections having loosely attached thereto devices for connecting the ends of the hame, one of said sections being provided with a loop or keeper upon its exterior, and the opposite section with aspring-bolt and housing, substantially as and for the purpose-described. In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

SYLVESIER JAY BOWVERS, lVitnesses:

ALBERT S. BACON, J. HENRY ME'roALr. 

